Days of Danger
by Lillith66
Summary: Korra and Mako gear up for a fight with enemy firebenders. Not everyone comes out unscratched though. Korra ends up taking a bad beating..
1. Bomb

Hi there, it took me some time to write a new story. I didn't have the inspiration and I were very busy, still am in fact, since I've got exams next week../p  
Anyhow, eventually I ended up writing a new story anyways and this is the first chapter. Hope you enjoy ;)

* * *

"I don't want you to go into battle with me Mako. You know I don't."  
Korra tried once again.

"You've said that before. But yóú know I'm not gonna let you go off on your own."

"I'm not on my own! Lin will be there too. And my father and his soldiers. They are one of the finest. Besides, I can take care if myself just fine. Don't worry about me Mako."

"Of course I dó worry about you. I'm your boyfriend. I'm supposed to stand by you, to have your back. Literally. Always."

Korra sighed. "I really can't talk you out of this huh?"

"Nope." Said Mako as he planted a soft kiss on the Avatars nose.

"Allright then, let's gear up."

Mako and Korra prepared for the fight that was coming. In less than an hour, they would stand against a group of enemy-firebenders that had infiltrated Republic City.

"Okay, listen up"  
Tonraq said.

"In a few moments, the enemy will be here for their secret meeting. Except it isn't as secret as they thought since one of our man found out about their gathering.  
We're going to welcome them with a surprise though. Over there - Tonraq pointed - we placed a bom. As soon as these firebenders walk past there, we will blow the thing up. Those who survive the bomb, will have to get through us. Understood?!"

"Understood"

A few moments later the enemy arrived at their meeting point. Just a little distanced from the bomb.

"Attack!"

Tonraq, Lin, Mako, Korra and the rest of the soldiers jumped their enemy and tried to fight of a many as possible before leading them to the bomb.  
The moment was finally there. The firebenders were at the perfect place.

"Kai, do it! Now!"  
Yelled Tonraq.

Just before Kai pushed the button, one of the firebenders grabbed Korra.

"Kai don't!"  
Mako yelled.  
But it was too late..

"Korra nooo!"  
Mako saw how Korra flew up in the air by the impact of the explosion and hit the ground with a sickening thud. He would swear he heard something crack.

As soon as he unfroze from his spot, he tried to get get to her the best he could, but the mass of fighting persons was just too thick..

Desperately Mako watched Korra being dragged further away from him, leaving a small trail of blood. br /br /After the fight Lin, Mako and Tonraq gathered at the house of Mako and Bolin.

"Where's Korra?"  
Bolin asked.

All three turned to Mako as he suddenly started to sob.

"Mako? What's wrong? And where's my daughter? Isn't she with you?"

"I.. I- I couldn't save her."  
The boy started sobbing harder.

"I couldn't save her and it's all my fault. I'm so sorry sir! I'm so soo sorry!"  
He broke down and fell to his knees. Burying his face in his hands and crying like he hadn't done in a long time.

All three stared at him with both worry and confusion. They decided to first let Mako get his emotions somewhat under control before they questioned him about what exactly happened.

"The b- bomb.. It went off.. but they had Korra. S- she got hurt. Hurt bad. I tried to get to her, but I couldn't. I couldn't save her" explained the boy as he broke down again. 

*Korra* 

"Just throw her in that empty cell in the basement. And don't forget to shackle her wrists and ankles" the commander ordered.

"But she's out cold. And by the looks of it, she won't be up anytime soon. I don't think she will be up and around for quite some time."

"Don't you dare underestimate her. She's capable of more than you could even think of. She's highly dangerous and unpredictable. Have I made myself clear?!"

"Y- yes. Yes sir"  
The bender answered.

He thereby did as he was told. He shackled her wrists to the ceiling, letting her unconscious body hang down limply, and her ankles to the ground. Her mouth covered in platinum.

*Back at Republic city* 

"We need to go look for her immediately. We know for sure that she has been hurt by the explosion, she might need medical attention, and I don't even want to know what they're doing to her while I'm speaking. So let's get going!"  
Tonraq buldered.

The searching troops looked everywhere. They sought everywhere, but no Korra. Eventualy it was getting dark and they needed to stop the search. Mako wanted to continue, still blaming himself.

But even Tonraq thought they needed to call it a night.  
"Our best chances are in broad daylight. Everybody get some sleep, we will start again fresh in the morning."  
And so they did, day after day.. 

*Korra* 

Korra was still in the dark, although she started to be more aware of her surroundings. And her own body.  
She could feel all of it, but not in a good way. Her entire body felt sore. She had trouble breathing, which could be partially caused by the uneasy position she was in, the cold and the dustiness, but judging by the feeling of her ribs, a few of them must be broken and one of them might have pierced a lung. The thing she was most aware of at the moment was a headache that was killing her.

"Shouldn't we wake her up somehow? She has been out for four days now. Of we don't give her something to eat, or at to least to drink, she will die before we have even layed our hands on her."

"Not yet. We need to be patient. The avatar is strong. She won't die of dehydration or starvation that soon. We need to make sure she is weak enough before we bring her up the stage. Two more days, then we will wake her up and give her some water. But no food."

Two days later Korra's captors came down to her cel again. She had been starting to wake up for a bit every now and then, but since she wasn't fully awake yet, they decided to help her a bit by pouring her over with a bucket of ice water.

"huuughh"  
Korra jolted awake.

Trying to take in her surroundings and alert herself for the danger that was upon her. She spotted two guards and two other man, of which one must have been the commander.

"Saiko, remove the platinum piece from her mouth. Soo.. miss Avatar. You're probably wondering why you're here. Aren't you?"

Korra didn't respond.

"I asked you a question."

Korra just shot him an evil look and growled, but didn't say anything. That earned her a punch in the stomach.

"Not so talkative huh? Or is your mouth dry perhaps? Saiko, give her the water."

Korra downed the little bit of water she got so fast, she almost choked on it.

"Now that you've had your drink, tell me Avatar. How are you feeling?"

Again, no response. This time she was rewarded with three kicks in her stomach and sides and a hit against her head. She could feel the blood dripping down from the sides of her mouth.

"Fine, if that's how you want to play it. In two weeks, we will bring you up the stage. Bruised. Battered.  
Weak.. Your people, who love you so dearly, will bow for me.  
However, I'm not stupid. Those people of yours won't bow for me unless there's a good reason for them to do so. And that, my sweet girl, is where you will step in."

He said while caressing her face before grabbing a knife and stabbing her in the stomach.

"Aaah! You son of a-"  
before she could even finish her sentence, she got stabbed a second time.

"It was nice talking to you Avatar. Since you're gonna pass out from the pain soon, we'll continue thisconversation later."  
And with that he let her hang. Passed out, covered in blood.

*Republic city* 

"I can't believe we haven't found her yet. What are we missing? And what do they want with her?"

"Calm down bro, we'll find her. Sooner or later."

"Yeah well I guess it's gonna be 'later' Bolin. I'm freaking out, it's been two weeks. Two weeks Bo!  
Who knows what they've done to her. For Aangs sake.." 

*Korra* 

"She's still out cold sir. Shouldn't we try to stop the bleeding? She's starting to look really pale."

"No, to no avail. That's exactly how I want her. We can't have her being strong and alert enough to think of something to outsmart us. I do want her awake though, I still need to finish telling our Avatar my plans with her."

"But sir, how are we going to do that? She has been like this for days. I don't suppose another ice bucket is going to help."

"Stop the 'but's' now, would you. I know what I'm doing and I have just the perfect tool for waking her. I bet some electricity will shock her eyes open."

"Aaaah-ng-aah!"  
Korra brought out.

"The electricity from the Kali sticks coursed trough her entire body. She could feel the sticks burning against her bare skin. She didn't want to give them the satisfaction, but she just couldn't stop screaming. It hurt too much and she was too exhausted to even try and quiet down her screams.

"Hello there Avatar Korra. So we meet again. I hadn't filled you in entirely yet about my plans for you. Like I said, the people won't bow for me. Not at first. But they will bow for their beloved Avatar. And after you've told them obey me, I will be the one for whom they'll bow."

"Never."

"What did you say there?"

"I. Said. Never! They will never bow for you and neither will I ask or tell them too."

"Oh yes you will. And even if you don't, they'll obey me after they've seen what I've done to you. The great, strong Avatar, turned into a bloody, pathetic mess. They'll see what I'm capable of. So if they don't bow for me out of love or loyalty, it will be out of fear. So be it."

And with that the commander hit her until she could see stars dancing before her vision turned all black. 

*Republic City* 

"What in Aangs name is happening over there?"  
Lin wondered aloud.

"It looks like someone is going to have a speech"  
Bolin commented.

"It looks rather serious."

Not interested in anything else than looking for Korra, the group turned around in order the walk away from the commotion. But then, something, or rather someone, caught Mako's eye.

"Guys, I think we can stop looking for Korra."

"What?! Stop looking for Korra? Bro, I now it has been three weeks already. And I know the chances we're going to find her, chances she's even alive for that matter, are slim, but we can't just give up on her. Not after everything she's done for us."

"Bo. Turn around."


	2. Lost and found

"Bo. Turn around."

At that, Bolin turned around.

And so did Lin and Tonraq. All three followed Mako's gaze and finally saw the cruel sight.  
A ghostly white girl, being dragged up the stage. Her body limp and smeared with blood.  
All four were too stunned to move or even say anything. They just stared at the horrific scene.

"Hello Republic City. I'm standing here before you, to announce that I'm your new leader. I'm the one you will bow to from now on."

The crowd reacted both shocked and mad. They started to either shout or walk away, before something, or rather someone, caught their attention.

People were gasping at the sight.

The commander grinned. "Not gonna walk away now, huh? I knew I needed some leverage in order to have you listen to me. Luckily for me, your beloved Avatar was eager to help me. I suggest you all bow for me now, or else-"

"Or else what?!"  
A very frustrated Mako suddenly yelled.  
"You can't kill the Avatar, you'll just create a martyr. People will only start a rebellion!"

"Oh but I'm not going to do that. I'm not going to kill her, it's way to much fun to torture her. To torture her to the point she wánts to die, but doesn't.  
"So, Republic City. I suggest you plead your loyalty to me right now, or else this girl you all worship, will cry out in pain even more than she already has."

People started dropping on their knees, bowing their heads as a sign of obedience towards the dictator in front of them.

"No! Don't you dare give him the satisfaction! Everyone, stand up, stand tall, he has no power over us!" Mako shouted.

"B-but, he has the Avatar. He is going to do terrible things to her, while she has been so good to us. We need her" a young woman behind him said.

"Korra wouldn't want us to give in to this monster. We can't do that to her. We need to safe her.."

"And with those words, people started running towards the stage.  
"Attack!"

At first the commander stood perplexed, but he quickly regained his composure. His man came to his aid and city suddenly turned into a battlefield. It was a (literally) heated fight. No one came out unscratched, especially not the Avatar, but they did come out.

The firefighters and their commander eventually fled. Being outnumbered and not used to this kind of rebellion, they gave up. Leaving the city in a mess, but at least the Avatar was 'theirs' again.

In the safe hands of Mako, Bolin, Tonraq and Lin. They brought her back to the air temple for Katara to work on her.

"Oh my dear girl, what did they do to you."

Katara said more to herself than to Korra.  
She had sent everybody out. She needed utter concentration. She couldn't focus on healing Korra's wounds, as far as possible, when people where hovering over her and gasping every know and then.

She had to admit, it wasn't a pretty sight. One of her eyes was swollen shut, she had a busted lip, numerous cuts and lacerations. Bruises everywhere, deep stabwounds, burns. That's not even taking her broken bones and internal and psychological wounds into account. Korra had 5 broken ribs, one broken arm, a broken nose, one of her lungs had teared and there was internal bleeding. It wasn't possible to say anything for certain about her mental health, because 5 days later, she still hadn't opened her eyes.

"Please wake up. We're all soo worried about you" said Mako while stroking her hand.  
"Those firebenders are gone, Korra. They fled. It's safe for you to wake up now, they can't hurt you anymore. You're safe, you're safe"  
he repeated almost like a mantra.

3 hours later, Bolin walked in.  
Mako's head lay on the bed beside Korra's hand, which he was still holding firmly.

"Hey bro, wake up."  
Bolin gently shook Mako.

"mh-huhh. Oh hey Bo, what's up."

"Not much, only.. Only I'm starting to worry about you Mako. You haven't eaten or slept for days."

"I slept until you woke me up. Besides, I need to be here in case Korra wakes up. I can't leave her alone again, if I hadn't in the first place, none of this would've happened."

"Bro.." - Bolin sighed "This isn't your fault. I know you've been blaming yourself the entire time, but you couldn't have done anything to prevent it. You really should at least eat something. It could be days before Korra wakes up, if she even wakes up."

"NO! Don't you say that! She will be wake up! She HAS to!" Mako practically screamed.

"Bro.. I really hope she will. I'm hoping her to recover soo bad. But we also have to be realistic. She has been in the hands of the commander for weeks. No food, barely anything to drink. And she was almost beaten to death. We may be glad she even pulled trough all of that *sigh*Look Mako, she's hurt real bad, you need to start thinking about-"

"NO! No no no! It couldn't be! Korra is the strongest, toughest, most brave person I've ever met. She will pull trough! She has to, because I can't live without her. I love her Bo."

*Korra*

~ Damn, what's all the commotion, it seems like someone is screaming. Someone else than my head. What's going on? Everything is bright, but at the same time, I can't see anything. I can only feel my body, all of it. Why does it feel so incredibly painfull? Man, I could use some fresh air, I can barely breath. ~

Her cheast started rising and falling faster than before. She started to panick for a bit.

~ I still can't see anything! I can't hear anything anymore, I can't move! I can't breath! ~

"Aaaah!"

Korra suddenly sat up straight, her eyes wide open in fear.

*Air temple Island*

"Mako and Bolin had just left Korra's room. They weren't sure whether Korra could hear them in the state she was in, but they didn't want to risk disturbing her, so they took it outside.  
Suddenly they hears an ear piercing scream. It came from Korra's room. They immediately ran back to the room, to find Lin and Tonraq already there.

"It's okay sweetie, you're at air temple Island, you're safe. What do you remember?"

The girl was still breathing heavily and she lookedat her father with big eyes.

"Oh for Aangs sake, Tonraq, give her some space. Let her breath at least, can't you see she's troubled. Who wouldn't be after 3 weeks of torture and another full week of being in the dark."

"W-what?" Korra brought out weakly.

"Sorry kid, it's the truth. But first, let's have Pema prepare you some food. You must be absolutely famished."

With those words, Korra became aware of her body again. Her stomach growled and she could feel the pain she was in.  
She looked at herself. It was a somewhat colored sight. Where she wasn't bandaged up, there were different colors covering her skin. Green, blue, yellow. It was an odd sight really.  
But before she could really wonder about the origin of these, she felt exhausted by the sudden use of energy from waking up and fell back in an uneasy sleep.


End file.
